Once a week Philip Galanes answers questions about how to act and react in a polite society - a different path from his livelihood as an entertainment lawyer. And his job as an interior design consultant for private clients. And another job as a novelist, first with "Father's Day" in 2004 and then with "Emma's Table" in 2008.

But the questions are perfect for his Social Q's column, which runs each Sunday in The New York Times. Galanes gathered several of his most popular and most peculiar questions in a book called "Social Q's: How to Survive the Quirks, Quandaries, and Quagmires of Today" (Simon & Schuster). | Feb. 22, 2013»Read Full Article

Coming over the 6th St. viaduct last night, there were already hints that it'd be an interesting night. The big Harley-Davidson anniversary fete might be a few weeks away still, but more riders than usual were sidled up side-by-side at the Harley-Davidson Museum.

Bike night at the Iron Horse Hotel, just up the road and a home away from home for riders, was roaring. Sure enough, there were more leather-clad and tattooed bikers in "the yard" than most weeks. | Aug. 16, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

Aaron Bradway (Michael David Stoddard) is at the top of the world: college-bound class valedictorian and boyfriend to Princess (Rachael Zientek), class diva. While Princess is human and Aaron is a puppet monster resembling a young Yoda, that's no barrier when one is starting out and confident of success.

But even the title of Robby McGhee's "The Burden of Being" — the new puppet musical that opened Thursday night at Alchemist Theatre — hints at what we all learn, somewhere between high school and 30: Life, as one character informs Aaron, throws us curve balls. | Aug. 16, 2013»Read Full Article

Some of the best meals I've had this year have been at two new restaurants that serve just four or so sandwiches and a smattering of small plates.

Typically, a menu like that might not warrant a review. But Love Handle on the east side and the butcher shop Bavette in the Third Ward are exceptional at what they do: elevating simple plates and delivering a satisfying, memorable meal.

With these two restaurants, along with established and other newer places around town, it's looking like a golden age for sandwiches in Milwaukee.

Great sandwiches this summer at Love Handle on the east side and Bavette in the Third Ward got me thinking about other sandwiches I have known and loved around town. Before long, I had a healthy list.

Far from an exhaustive compilation of every great sandwich in and around Milwaukee, this list comprises the best sandwiches I've had lately, beyond those at the two new restaurants. Some I first had a decade ago, or even longer; some are more recent happy discoveries. | Aug. 16, 2013»Read Full Article(8)